jillyb
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2008
- Messages
- 2,437
Day 5 - August 18:
Today was our last day. We took our time getting up this morning. I finished up the last minute packing after we'd all gotten ready. We went downstairs for breakfast one last time. After breakfast, Clay got a luggage cart and he and the girls went back up to the room to get our luggage. I got the van and pulled up front to wait for Clay and the girls to get back downstairs.
As Clay and the girls were loading up the van, I pulled the SmartCard out of the sun visor and walked back inside. There was a young lady working the front desk this morning. She was on the phone as I walked up to the counter. After a short wait she asked if she could help me. I asked her if she rode the Metro. Looking puzzled, she said "yes". That's when I gave her some pixie dust as I handed her the SmartCard. I wish I'd had my camera to take a picture of the look of surprise on her face! Clay was finished loading the luggage and off we went to Mount Vernon.
We got there around 9:30 or 10:00. Since it was so early there wasn't a lot of people there yet so we didn't have to wait long to go inside. This was pretty neat but I have to say that Mount Vernon doesn't look near a "fancy" as the pictures make out! I'm not sure why I was surprised by this since I've seen other historical homes and Mount Vernon was just like them in many respects. It just looks so much nicer in those promotional photos!
After the tour of the house we walked around the grounds. By now it was getting VERY hot.
We saw the vault where George and Martha are buried and walked down to see where some of the slaves had been buried. It was nice and shady there so we sat and rested for a bit. We headed back towards the house and I wanted to get some pictures of the gardens. Clay and the girls were really hot so they went to get a snack and cool off in the air conditioning while I stayed out in the heat. I really enjoyed having that time to myself to take pictures, but by the time it was over, I had sweat pouring down my face and I was ready to get something cool to drink. I called Clay to see where they were and to let him know I was on my way. We sat in the air conditioning for a while and then headed out to do the National Treasure II tour.
This was an interesting tour and the guide told some behind the scene stuff on the filming. The tour ended along the shore of the Potomac. Did I mention it was HAWT???!!! Fortunately, they have a shuttle that takes you back up so we didn't have to walk up the steep hill. It was around 2:00 so we decided to grab some lunch before we headed back home. We ate at the Mount Vernon Inn. I don't remember what we had for lunch but everybody enjoyed their meal. Clay and Hannah didn't want dessert but Alison and I did. We both got the Oreo Chocolate Ice Cream Pie. Oh my!! This thing was heavenly!!!! Here's a picture of a slice of heaven on earth!
We wandered around the gift shop for a while, picked out some souviners, did a bathroom run and then headed to the van. It was about 4:00 when we left. I-95 was backed up for miles so it was slow going for the first couple of hours. Finally, right before Richmond, traffic broke up and we were able to get on down the road. We stopped at the Subway in Hillsborough, NC for dinner, filled up the tank and got back on the road. It was about 11:15 when we got home. We drug ourselves inside, thankful to be sleeping in our own beds.
Here's some pictures from that day:
Wouldn't it be nice to see this every morning?
(pictures continued in next post)
Today was our last day. We took our time getting up this morning. I finished up the last minute packing after we'd all gotten ready. We went downstairs for breakfast one last time. After breakfast, Clay got a luggage cart and he and the girls went back up to the room to get our luggage. I got the van and pulled up front to wait for Clay and the girls to get back downstairs.
As Clay and the girls were loading up the van, I pulled the SmartCard out of the sun visor and walked back inside. There was a young lady working the front desk this morning. She was on the phone as I walked up to the counter. After a short wait she asked if she could help me. I asked her if she rode the Metro. Looking puzzled, she said "yes". That's when I gave her some pixie dust as I handed her the SmartCard. I wish I'd had my camera to take a picture of the look of surprise on her face! Clay was finished loading the luggage and off we went to Mount Vernon.
We got there around 9:30 or 10:00. Since it was so early there wasn't a lot of people there yet so we didn't have to wait long to go inside. This was pretty neat but I have to say that Mount Vernon doesn't look near a "fancy" as the pictures make out! I'm not sure why I was surprised by this since I've seen other historical homes and Mount Vernon was just like them in many respects. It just looks so much nicer in those promotional photos!
After the tour of the house we walked around the grounds. By now it was getting VERY hot.We saw the vault where George and Martha are buried and walked down to see where some of the slaves had been buried. It was nice and shady there so we sat and rested for a bit. We headed back towards the house and I wanted to get some pictures of the gardens. Clay and the girls were really hot so they went to get a snack and cool off in the air conditioning while I stayed out in the heat. I really enjoyed having that time to myself to take pictures, but by the time it was over, I had sweat pouring down my face and I was ready to get something cool to drink. I called Clay to see where they were and to let him know I was on my way. We sat in the air conditioning for a while and then headed out to do the National Treasure II tour.
This was an interesting tour and the guide told some behind the scene stuff on the filming. The tour ended along the shore of the Potomac. Did I mention it was HAWT???!!! Fortunately, they have a shuttle that takes you back up so we didn't have to walk up the steep hill. It was around 2:00 so we decided to grab some lunch before we headed back home. We ate at the Mount Vernon Inn. I don't remember what we had for lunch but everybody enjoyed their meal. Clay and Hannah didn't want dessert but Alison and I did. We both got the Oreo Chocolate Ice Cream Pie. Oh my!! This thing was heavenly!!!! Here's a picture of a slice of heaven on earth!
We wandered around the gift shop for a while, picked out some souviners, did a bathroom run and then headed to the van. It was about 4:00 when we left. I-95 was backed up for miles so it was slow going for the first couple of hours. Finally, right before Richmond, traffic broke up and we were able to get on down the road. We stopped at the Subway in Hillsborough, NC for dinner, filled up the tank and got back on the road. It was about 11:15 when we got home. We drug ourselves inside, thankful to be sleeping in our own beds.
Here's some pictures from that day:
Wouldn't it be nice to see this every morning?
(pictures continued in next post)
anyway! Look on the bright side...you can read it all in one sitting or at your leisure and not have to wait forever for an update! 
